Buick LeSabre or Toyota Avalon?

First, I'd opt for the Buick Century. Same car, same features, less $$$

Both are nice cars. Drive and compare features and cost and choose what you feel best meets your requirements. Of course, most in a GM newsgroup are going to advise you to buy the GM vehicle, you know! Hardly a unbiased group!! ;-)

RJ

The Century is not the same as a LeSabre. Smaller car, smaller engine. Century is the same platform as the Regal, but has a smaller engine.

Plus the Century/Regal are being dropped for 2005.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~274,416 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

It's a tough call, actually. The LeSabre is really the only affordable, well built large sedan that GM makes. The Regal costs too much versus a Camry or Accord, and the higher end models are into the Euro-sedan price range.

Toyota has a better reputation for reliability. The LeSabre has a lot more comforts and features. Drive both - either one will be a great choice.

The reliability is better on the Toyotas - they are #1 in quality and have been for years, so unless you have a new source of data that nobody else knows about...

As for cost, a Regal GS does cost more by the time you add the features that coms standard on the top-trim Camry V6 or Accord V6.

It's just not a good enough deal to win. At best it comes in tied in price if you get a bunch of rebates.

Now, the LeSabre - it's a much better deal than the Regal.

The Avalon leads in the long-term reliability in its mid-size class, but the LeSabre is 2nd in its full-size class. Thus, one has to make up one's mind whether one wants a mid-size or a full-size car, but either should be quite reliable (cf.

Speaking of JD power they rated the 3800 as one of the top ten engines in the past 100 years.

The size inside is pretty darn close. I personally like the LeSabre a bit more due to the amenities. Nicer leather seats, the neat HUD feature and the center console is better. The Avalon has its points, too. Much smoother transmission, for one.

Drive both - you can't really go wrong with either.

Oh - buy them 2-3 years used. They should go for well under $20K and you'll save the initial depreciation hit.

Very true. Got my 98 bonneville 72k miles 2 years ago for 5k and it blue booked at 10k then.

I can't speak for the Avalon, but I sold Buicks for years, and I strongly recommend the LeSabre. Wide range of options and prices, and very reliable. Do not go with the Regal line, or the Park Ave. I saw far more service dept problems with the Regal and Park Ave. Very, very few problems with the LeSabre. And customers kept coming back for them. I had many drive them for 150,000 - 200,000 plus miles with only regular maintaince. And that regular maintaince on the 3800 in minimal. Good power, great ride quality, and super mileage for a full size car. You can't go wrong. And at times you can catch them with super rebates and other incentives.

Jerry H. -- retired Buick sales manager

You're serious right?

One is made by engineers (Avalon).

The other is made by bean-counters (Buick).

End of discussion.

You get what you pay for. Buy a car that's made on the cheap - like everything Detroit comes out with- and you will wind up paying for it in the long run.

This one is a no-brainer.

Yeah ok... Going by your logic the Avalon should be thrown out after 3 years because in Japan it cost to much to relicense them do to emission laws. So they dont engineer them to last longer than that. Ignorant logic met with ignorant logic.

Yeah you are a no-brainer.

ruud wrote : you get what you pay for. Buy a car thats made on the cheap , like everything Detroit comes out with and you'll end up paying for it it the long run.

Boy, I'm glad my car came out of Missouri & not Detroit. I guess I got what I payed for! A good reliable car thats gone almost 275,000 miles in

13 years.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~274,504 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

The Century and LeSabre have very little in common and are certainly not the same car.

John

True. Why GM doesn't just consolidate under the GM label I don't know. The Century is moot. The new Saturn effectively replaces it.

They could get rid of half of their models and save immense amounts of money in the process and hardly impact their sales.

Leave Buick alone !!! No cars rides like a Buick. They are affordable, fairly reliable, and easy to maintain.

If you a want skateboard ride get a rice burner...

What it really comes down to is cosmetic differences and performance differences. You couldnt sell a Olds 88 to someone that likes the styling of the Bonneville. Both of which are H body platforms but Olds usually had a much softer shift and suspension set up than a Pontiac. Same goes for Buick. Each devision is targeted at a different market, Pontiac would be the younger crowd and Buick the older crowd. It doesnt hurt to have a broad overlapping range of cars to help everyone find the nitch they fall into in the market. The problem was Olds and Buick were to much in the same market so one had to go. Just as I was starting to like Olds styling.

My wife works at a Toyota dealership and drives an '03 Avalon demo unit. Nice car but God awful boring! It's a big yawn. It's a very competent and good handling car but has the personality of an anvil. If I were you, I'd go for the LeSabre or the Pontiac equivalent, the Bonneville or better yet get a Chevy Impala with the 3800 engine and put the $10,000 you save in your IRA.